Proper Lighting throughout the Emergency Exit Routes Is Crucial

What are Emergency Exit Routes?

Emergency exit routes, escape routes, or fire exits, are all the same name for routes you take to evacuate a building or premises in case of an emergency. This emergency can be fire-related, radiation related, gaseous or of any other type, the point is, the basic principal behind designing an emergency exit remain the same.

One of the most important aspects of a rightly done emergency escape route is the lighting throughout the way until the exit point is reached by everyone. In this article, we will try to look at why it is crucial to light emergency routes properly and what is the best way to go about it.

What are the Objectives of Lighting an Emergency Escape Route?

Typically, the purpose of lighting an emergency exit route is simple, to make sure that everyone trying to evacuate can safely and comfortably leave the premises and the lighting is sufficient all the way to the exit. In addition, the power supply lighting the way also has to sustain long enough until that everyone trying to make their way out is safe.

If there is a fire emergency, the lighting will also be beneficial for people to see through the smoke that may have seeped into the routes through some openings. Although most exit ways are pressurised so that smoke can’t enter but still sometimes it is unavoidable, in those instances the lighting is helpful to people.

When people are in a hurry and panicking, due to fire or any other reason, it is usually every man for himself, such a situation can be avoided with proper guidelines in place that everyone can easily as a collective so as to avoid incidents like bottlenecking on an exit or stampedes. These are the things that have to be avoided at all costs.

The importance of Escape Route Lighting and What to Do?

If you are a contractor or a building owner, you need to be aware of the building control guidelines, in contact with the authorities if you have any questions, and most importantly the ventilation experts as well as lighting experts so that there is no stone left upturned in your efforts to make the safety of your tenants or office workers or anyone else present on your property during the time of emergency. You can get quality warehouse and factory lighting installation from experts right now.

It is important that you have a primary and a secondary luminaire for your emergency lighting, the latter should be powered by a secondary power source. This is important because if the primary one goes out for some reason, people will not be lost in the dark without ventilation or lighting.

Furthermore, there are different types of lighting as any expert would attest. Every person’s vision is different therefore the lighting should be at the very least visible to everyone. Please consult with your lighting person to make sure you have sufficient lighting throughout all routes.

Also, where you install the lights can be a good indicator to people where the emergency routes which will quell most of the confusion and anxiety people experience when first confronted with a sudden emergency. Strategic placement of lights is thus a necessary aspect of preparing suitable directions towards and all the way through the emergency escape routes.